general problems of the 2018 Ford F-150 - part 1

Started vehicle could not move the wheel to turn towed it to a repair shop said it was not reading any codes it eventually let the wheel move again called Ford service centers and they told me not to bring it in and if it doesn’t read codes and the vechicle steering does not lock up for them nothing they can do. I see this vehicle has had recalls on the steering issues but not my VIN number was told don’t drive it or take your chances . The truck has low mileage and steering should have never locked up so hard that I am strong could not turn the wheel kept trying for hours till it would move shakes when driving jumps all over the road sloppy steering and I’m told no code can diagnose what the issue is with steering ?.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the seat belt warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the clockspring. The vehicle was repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 23v847000 (steering, air bags); but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 68,000.

Nhtsa safety complaint draft vehicle information: make: Ford model: F-150 year: 2018 VIN: [xxx] incident summary: while driving my 2018 Ford F-150, the vehicle suddenly displayed a warning on the dashboard: “steering assist fault – service required. ” within moments of this warning, I lost all power steering assist and was unable to control the vehicle, resulting in the truck veering off the road and into a ditch. This was a sudden and dangerous failure of the electric power steering (eps) system. I was fortunate not to have been injured, and no other vehicles were involved. However, this type of failure represents a major safety risk to me and to others on the road. I contacted Ford motor company and was assigned case number: [xxx]. Despite reporting the issue and explaining that the vehicle ran off the road, Ford refused to offer any assistance or goodwill repair. I was told the vehicle is outside of recall 24s45, even though it displays the exact same failure symptoms as recalled vehicles from later years. This failure could have resulted in serious injury or death. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate this steering system failure and expand any related recall coverage to include affected 2018 F-150 models like mine. Incident date: [xxx] mileage at time of incident: 157,000 location: pine bluff, ar complainant information: name: [xxx] address: [xxx] phone: [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The contact owned a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while the contact's son was driving at 20 mph, the contact's son noticed an unusual sound. The steering wheel did not turn in the intended direction. No warning lights illuminated. The contact stated the steering wheel was detached and loose. The vehicle crashed into a nearby tree. The contact's son did not sustain any injuries. In addition, the air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed to the insurance company for inspection. The vehicle was condemned as a total loss by the insurance company. A police report was filed; however, the information was unavailable. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. The contact was advised that the vehicle needed to be inspected by the investigator. The failure mileage was unknown.

The button on the steering wheel get hot then fail to work this has happened several times I have complained to Ford. The cruise control quits working and all the buttons for the dash menu quit working. I will be driving down the road with the cruise control on and all of a sudden it will quit working. Then it will just come back on like you never shut it off and when you least expect it. When this happens you can not shut the thing off its gonna cause an accident.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving on the highway at various speeds, the steering wheel was pulling to the left or to the right, forcing the contact to keep and maintain a strong grip on the steering wheel while driving. There was no warning light illuminated. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The contact referenced equipment recall: 24s45 (electronic power steering assist steering gear); as a possible cause for the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 135,000.

I own a 2018 Ford F-150 with 56,000 miles, and I have been experiencing serious and unpredictable transmission issues. These problems first started around 48,000 miles, but at the time, I assumed it was normal behavior. However, the issues have progressively worsened, and by 55,000 miles, a wrench warning light started appearing intermittently. Symptoms: •while driving at highway speeds, the transmission unexpectedly drops from 10th gear to 1st gear, causing a sudden and severe deceleration. •the gear shifts are jerky, unpredictable, and rough, making it difficult to maintain control of the vehicle. •the wrench warning light appears occasionally but disappears quickly, making diagnosis difficult. •no diagnostic trouble codes (d dtcs) are stored or retrieved when scanned at multiple repair shops. •the issue happens intermittently, making it challenging to replicate on demand. •started noticing issues at 48k miles, but they became significantly worse around 50k miles when the wrench light began appearing. •I called Ford to reset the radio/computer software, after hearing it might help, but it did not resolve the issue. •the unpredictable transmission behavior causes severe anxiety while driving, as I never know when it will happen again. Attempts to fix: •I have taken my truck to multiple repair shops and Ford dealerships, but since no codes are present, they have been unable to diagnose or fix the issue. •mechanics have checked for transmission recalls or software updates, but no clear solution has been provided. •I contacted Ford for a radio/computer software reset, hoping it might help, but this did not fix the problem. Safety concerns: •the abrupt downshifting poses a serious safety hazard to myself and other drivers on the road, especially at high speeds. •there is an increased risk of accidents due to sudden deceleration and loss of control. •the problem occurs without warning, making it difficult to predict or prevent.

This has now happened 8+ times. While traveling on the highway towing either a boat or trailer, my engine shuts down. This has happened at 75 mph. The error code :auto startstop shift to p, then restart engine" displays on the instrument panel. Power steering does not work, steering becomes quite difficult. I have found several other instances of this same issue in Ford forums. So. . . At 75mph, on a highway, I lost all power 3-5 times in one trip. Each time I coasted to the safety strip, put the truck in park, and restarted. Several times the vehicle would not restart immediately. I pulled off the highway and did some research and disables the auto start/stop feature, which seemed to alleviate the issue. Unfortunately I cannot permanently disable the feature. I did stop at a Ford dealership and showed them a picture of the error code. The dealership did not have a fix, and stated it was not a known issue. The last instance was in November, I have not towed since then. Today another mechanic flashed the pm module that controls auto start/stop for another issue, an emissions recall, but did not know if that update would also clear up the towing issue. I have found at least 5 other instances of the the same issue with other Ford f150s in online forums.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while leaving a parking space, the power steering functionality became inoperable. The contact stated that the steering wheel was difficult to turn after restarting the vehicle. The contact checked the tires for low air pressure. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that the failure was due to the steering actuator. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case, but no additional assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

I noticed the steering wheel became very loose one day randomly. If you placed your hands and the 9 and 3 position on the steering wheel it would rock back and forth very freely. I carried the truck to a shop and they looked into the steering wheel and found the bolt the holds the steering wheel onto the steering column was loose. It was spinning freely is was so loose. If the bolt would have loosen a little bit more the steering wheel would have became detached.

Took my Ford f150 in for an oil change. Ford dealer informed me the steering gear assembly had completely broke near the gear box at only 68k (I do not know when the break happened). Although the vehicle is drivable, it has a chance of losing steering at any time and was advised not to drive it. No vehicle warnings are provided, and the truck has been regularly serviced over the years without me being informed of an issue. It is available for inspection as I am on a waitlist for a backordered steering gear assembly part.

I have been having nothing but problems with this truck since I purchased it and I'm looking to see if anyone can help me out with this truck. I have had it now almost two years and the truck was in the shop for 3 months of it getting worked. I have had nothing but problems with the braking system as well. The dealer wouldn't sell me the original pads for it, they sent someone to car quest to get a set of pads. Whenever I gave them the VIN I would always end up with the wrong parts somehow. So I dont know if there is VIN fraud or what but something wasn't adding up. The dealer I purchased it from is not much of help. The water pump has gone out, the cam phasers were replaced(and are rattling again. ) the starter was replaced due to clunking when started. ( still clunks) oil pan gasket was replaced. The transmission had to be replaced. I am just trying to see what my options are with this truck. It's clearly a lemon and just wondering if there's anything anyone can do to help because the reliability of this 35,000 dollar truck is out the window.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at 45 mph, the vehicle lost braking capability. The vehicle was placed in manual mode. The low power steering fluid message was displayed. The contact was able to pull into a gas station to purchase power steering fluid. The contact added power steering fluid; however, while the vehicle was parked, the power steering fluid leaked out of the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The contact stated that the failure was due to a failed seal and that the master pump had leaked from the rear seal. The contact called the local dealer, who referred him to the manufacturer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered under a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 132,401.

When the auto stop/start feature is engaged at a stop and I am the first vehicle at the light or stop sign, the steering is unresponsive when making a turn into or through the intersection after the auto start re-engages and has posed a safety issue steering/turning because of the delay that occurs in powering the power steering pump. On repeated instances, I have entered an intersection making a turn expecting the steering to be powered, only to find I have to struggle with the steering manually until the pump engages. The first time I asked the dealer to check the issue, I was told that my battery was dead and I had to buy a new one. I was told that would take care of the problem. The problem returned, however, and I took the truck back to the dealer. During the second dealer visit, I was told that the power steering pump is electric and has to run off the battery for a period of time (they confirmed the battery was fine during this second visit) after the auto stop/start re-engages and that is what causes the delay in power steering after the auto stop/start turns the engine back on. I was told that it gets worse if the battery doesn't have a full charge, but there was nothing that could be done to resolve the issue. On multiple occasions, I have feared that I would end up in a wreck with oncoming traffic after I struggled to steer until the pump engaged. Why would the manufacturer design a system that creates such a safety issue? the date below is the approximate date and mileage for the second dealer visit.

I was driving on a congested thoroughfare during rush hour on a Friday night. My truck became unresponsive and the steering wheel locked up. The truck made a screeching stop. With over 100 cars behind me honking. I was unable to drive car off the road shoulder in a safe location. The cars electrical system when dead. With very limited battery life on my phone, I worked to to solve this problem. Luckily I had a few tools in the truck and was able to dismantle the all of the underdash plastic and metal components in about 1 hr with cachophany of honking and yelling with ever car. No stopped to help. I had to push the vehicle approx a quarter of a mile on a moderate incline and jump in the cab without power steering and coast down a side street. I had to learn how to put the car in neutral this way to move. This is Friday night and unable to get a towing service provider to my location, I had to wait in a lesser than desirable neighborhood until 2:30 am to get the car to my place residence. This was one of the scariest and deadliest incidents I have ever had in a motor vehicle. I am deathly afraid this will reoccur on a highway with fatal consequences.

I was riding down the road the truck started to run hot then it slammed on brakes the power steering went out the panel the instrument panel was black I couldn't roll my windows down the truck was in drive but it wouldn't go and the motor was still running though and then it came all came back up and then it did this all the way home it would slam on break it didn't matter if I was going 30 or 60 and then it shut off before it got home and then the only way to get it going again was to jump it off.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the message "power access" was displayed and the steering wheel could not be turned in either direction, making the vehicle undrivable. The vehicle was examined by an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the power steering module was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 120,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that an abnormal clicking sound was coming from the steering wheel. There was no warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the steering wheel had become loosened while driving at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that the plastic bearing behind the air bag in the steering column had fractured and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was referred to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

Steering wheel bolt came loose, allowing the steering wheel to wobble. I was able to remove the bolt by hand, that's how loose it was. I repaired it myself using loctite and retorquing the bolt.

While driving at generally any speed from 8mph up to 70mph the electronic steering wheel will pull in either direction, I have brought this truck into a certified Ford dealership and they said everything they checked out was okay with said truck. This is not okay as it almost pulled me into the ditch while turning a corner. Other then that incident this erratic steering situation arises anytime I am driving, it does not appear to be intermittent.

The steering wheel has cracked in the center area housing the air bag and horn. I believe this is a safety hazard. With the crack going over half of the way through the steering wheel, there is a chance of the air bag deploying without cause.

Issue is with the electric steering rack. Vehicle has 34,000 miles. Purchased used. Have been having to constantly to correct the vehicle that drifts to the left. Can hear the electric steering motor constantly attempting to correct driver's correction. Vehicle is equipped with engine auto shut down feature, which when starting to turn from a stopped/shutdown, becomes very hard. Purchased four (4) new tires six (6) months ago. Now both front tires are "scalloped", which effects the control and ride.

The rack and pinion of the vehicle is locking up and becoming very stiff when driving. The steering locked up while in a curve and steered me into oncoming traffic with others in the vehicle. This needs to to be recalled so it can be repaired. There are multiple TSB reports from the manufacturer about the issue as well as a law suit against the manufacturer for the issue. It is gradually getting to be worse of an issue the more I drive it.

The electric steering causes wandering to both sides and pulling to both sides especially on turns. Extra effort is required to steer and constant attention is needed to stay on the road and not into the oncoming traffic or running the car off the road next to you. You cannot turn your eyes away from the road to adjust controls for even a second, you don't know where you will be on the road. I've had it back to westherr Ford 3x with the same complaint , only to be told it's normal and I'm not used to it and that they can't duplicate my concerns. Although it happens all the time and I drove other trucks on their lot that didn't act like that. If you take your hands off the steering wheel it will not drive straight. Sometimes it goes left sometimes it goes right. Sometimes it goes back and forth like it's getting an erratic electric signal. The mechanic even noticed it but the work orders never mention it.

The steering rack system (electronic steering) of the vehicle began 10 months ago to show in certain moments a condition of hardness even with vehicle parked. Then 2 months ago, while driving in an earthen type road the steering system completely blocked and it was impossible to turn and almost caused me to have an accident in the road when approached a curve.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 mph, the steering wheel seized as if the vehicle was in park(p) with the vehicle turned off. The contact stated that the vehicle was still running. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic who advised the contact to have the vehicle towed to a local dealer for assistance. The vehicle was not diagnosed and was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

When accelerating to pass another vehicle the truck started shaking violently engine rpms were erratic and I lost almost all forward momentum. This incident almost caused a head on collision. Truck has shifted erratic since purchased and has undergone the lastest Ford updates/repairs to no avail. Four-wheel drive is also engaging randomly and has also been repaired to no avail. It would be great if something would be done about these issues before someone gets killed. You just never know how the truck is going to drive on any given day. . .

The steering wheel horn button, where the airbag is behind it, is cracked. This is the second time it’s cracked since I’ve on the vehicle. The first time it was fixed by mike castrucci Ford April 22, 2019. I actually spoke to someone at kings Ford named tricia just a couple of days ago, and she told me that it was not under warranty. I tried to explain to her that this has happened before when it was under warranty and fixed already, and this was the second time, but she refused to help me. It looks like it’s called the ab module - airbag on this invoice I’m holding. At times, it seems to leak some sort of liquid slightly from the cracks, and the horn does not always work when I push on the button itself. I have included a picture of the invoice when it was fixed once before, and I’ll try to include pictures I took today of the horn button.

My air bag in the steering wheel is starting to come out I am worried it is going to deploy with the way it looks. See photo. . . I called the Ford dealership and they refused to report it.

Just purchased a 2018 f150 XLT with xtr package with approximately 36,500 miles. Noticed that vehicle steering wheel has play and tends to sway, almost feeling loose, when driving under 50mph. Informed dealer and wheel alignment was performed. Asked dealer for results of alignment condition and measurements prior to alignment being performed and was told they do not keep records of previous measurements only results and measurements after work was performed. Upon leaving steering wheel still steers away when driving under 50mph. When compared with other vehicles it definitely has play. Did some research and found that there are many complaints of the same hazardous issue being reported. Swaying and play in steering wheel is constant under 50mph. Correction of steering wheel is exhausting to hands and wrists and feeling of being unsafe is present when driving vehicle. Have contacted dealer, left message to speak more on this and no one has called us back since we took the vehicle in a week ago. We have our children in this vehicle. Please help!.

The vehicle's electric power steering does not turn back on quickly when starting from start/stop. This has happened several times since purchasing vehicle (02/2019). The vehicle was stationary and the steering did power after about 10 seconds.

Hi, issue 1: steering & safety related. Loss of assist of the steering system after vehicle is coming out of auto startstop mode. Appears to be cold temperature related 35-45f. City steet. (last incident - 6 mile rd - northville). Driven < 0. 5 mile from home to school (vehicle didn't reach normal operating temperature) no power steering assist for up to 5 seconds with engine running after start stop. Has now occurred with a high severity (no assist) > 5 times. Some occasions it appears that the ramp up of assist is delayed by 0. 5 to 1 seconds. Ford dealer examined and couldn't find issue in 2020. Upon my second visit they replaced the battery and said they found a fault code. Also contact Ford hotline for assistance, without satisfactory resolution. Issue is still present and not resolved. 2 incidents have been very close to severe front impact from oncoming traffic due to the great difficulty to turn the steering wheel without assist. The turning torque is so great the last incident caused physical injury/pain to my wrists due to the urgency to make the turn with the oncoming vehicle and wrenching on the steering wheel to get the truck to turn across the lane into the road. Last issue a few weeks ago. I have been manually turning off the auto startstop each time to avoid the issue. I am scheduled for service at tom holzer Ford and will again ask them to investigate and resolve the issue. Issue 2: automotive wipers appear to be triggered by sunlight / changing light conditions when no rain is present on the windshield.

Vehicle has automatic start stop feature. After vehicle restarts power steering does not provide any assistance for 2-5 seconds. Vehicle is moving under power but has no steering assist. 3 repair visits with no diagnosis. Problem has been happening almost since new. Sometimes delay is present, sometimes it's not. Can't predict when steering assist will not be available.

In heavy rain on 10/15/2020 vehicle pulled hard to the left. Resulting in vehicle hydroplaning of of i26 at highway speeds. Went into the median hitting a bunch of small trees and tearing up the vehicle. I barely missed a large tree that would have resulted in injuries to me and my 6 year old son. Luckily no injuries where sustained. Previous to the incident I have been experiencing occasional pulling to the left. Also a grinding noise. Believe to have a problem on the left from side. Incidents where so occasional that I did not take vehicle to dealer for repair believing that they would not be able to find an issue that happened only very rarely. (maybe once per month) after the incident I got looking around and found a technical service bulletin from Ford that I believe is related to this issue. Ford should be recalling vehicles for this so that people are not injured. Bulletin number is 18-2273. Pics and bulletin attached.

This vehicle won't track in a lane. It has to to be constantly held from changing lanes. At any given time it will want to turn to the right or go to the right and in 50 feet feet, it will want to do the same thing to the left. It never wants to go straight. The vehicle is a lot better since we placed it in grapevine Ford for two weeks to repair the issues. They improved it greatly, but it's not fixed.